Freeing a stuck case.

[docone31]

Not sure if this applies here, I am probably the only person who ever got a case stuck.
Well, here goes.
I had a rifle made, in 17-06. I got the urge to make castings so I needed to deprime my cases.
This rifle, shoots a 25gn at speeds I know not. I still have to tailor a load for it.
Needless to say, I deprimed five cases. Number six got seriously stuck. I mean seriously. I have had 30-30 cases get stuck and they are a bear to get out, but they do come out.
This one was like it was welded in!
MY fix,
I cut off the bottom. The deprimer pin is too thin to try rawhide malleting. From there, I used a flame burr 1/4" in diameter and thinned the walls without penetrating the case. From there, I took a chisel and hammered down the base on all sides untill I had made it look like a closure. I took a standard nail and hammered into the folded pieces of brass. The case popped right out.
In the case of the 17-06, it is a tapered case. The jam happened close to the base of the case.
Too much lube! If I had gone with improved, it would have been straight walled. That would have improved the fit into the die.
The taper caused the lube to jam up pressing on the case walls.
Live and learn.
What I learned, unlike the standard cases, hammer down from the top. Fold the bottom into itself, and drive it out.
After all this mucking about, I polished the inside with a cratex rod 800 grit.
No visible marks!
I am lucky, this time.

[Ricochet]

.17-06? I think that'd fit anyone's definition of "overbore." :-D

What sort of cast boolits are you shooting in that one?

[docone31]

Believe it or not, I was planning on paper jacketing it!!!
Hand slaps forehead.
Now that I have actually done some paper jacketing, with some actual results,
What was I thinking?
We are talking 58gns of 4895.
I do not think, even with a gas check, if I could find one, the casting could handle the speed.
I am not even going to think about paper patching here.
Actually some hard recoil with an amazing amount of torque. It is not pleasant to shoot at all.
Heavy, almost hurts, and if you are not on paper, you cannot see where it hits.
I am just glad I got the case out of the die.
I had it built back in the '80's, back when the disease of more was a going concern. Hand cannons, light speed bullets, I had a Remington XP-100 built in 338-06 Ackley. My shooting acquaintence had one built in 460 Weatherby.
I wonder what would have been produced if the 500 T-Rex had been around.
I got the case out. Now I have to form another one.
Can't fireform these.

[nighthunter]

For stuck cases I have always used this method. Remove the die from the press. Screw out the decapping rod as far as the expanding ball will allow you. Drill the primer pocket with a 13/64 drill bit then tap the hole with a 1/4-20 tap. Find a socket from your tool box that will fit over the shell case head but not over the die. Screw a 1/4 -20 bolt into the threaded hole with a washer added to act as a stop for the bolt head. The threaded bolt will act with enough camming power to pull the case from the die. I hope these directions are followable. If not contact me and I'll try to help you with it.

Nighthunter

[Ricochet]

58 grains of 4895? Wonder what sort of pressure that runs? The .30 M2 Ball cartridge was nominally loaded with 50 grains of 4895 under a 150 grain bullet. The .17's sectional density is lower, but the bore area/volume is WAY down so the gas expansion is slower.

[Dennis Eugene]

nighthunter, RCBS acturally made a stuck case remover exactly as you described I have one I picked up some where along the way. I also have the one they make with the two different sized rods used to hammer the case out. Dennis

[Newtire]

58 grains of 4895? Wonder what sort of pressure that runs? The .30 M2 Ball cartridge was nominally loaded with 50 grains of 4895 under a 150 grain bullet. The .17's sectional density is lower, but the bore area/volume is WAY down so the gas expansion is slower.

That sounds like it's close on the heels of the .17/.50 BMG

[35remington]

"We are talking 58gns of 4895." (With the .17-06).

That sounds rather....ahem.

Unlikely. As in KaBoom!

[schutzen]

I'm like DE; I use a RCBS Stuck Case Remover. I just looked at the box; it has $4.95 penciled on the label. I'm sure that price is "old", but think of the cost of new dies. Even if the Stuck Case Remover is $20-25, it is cheaper than ruining a set of dies. For the guys that want to build their own, you can but the RCBS is machined out of hardened steel and is designed to fit loosely over the mouth of the die while preventing excessive sideways movement. It is a cheap investment for a dedicated reloader.

[dk17hmr]

I sure would like to see a pic of that case.

I use the same method as Night Hunter, we load thousands of 223 a year and have used the drill/tap method on a number of stuck 223's.

[Down South]

I've only stuck a few over the years. I drill a hole in the bottom of the case and cut threads with a tap. (Can't remember what size but I think I tap them to 5/16" NC thread.) I use about three flat washers that are just larger than the diameter of the OD of the case. I then use a 5/16” bolt with another flat washer (5/16”) and screw it into the stuck case over the top of the three larger washers sitting over the stuck case. Take a wrench and tighten the bolt till the case comes free.
Hope this makes sense. I’ve been consuming a lot of my favorite beverages this afternoon.